


Happily Ever After The Credits

by krazieLeylines



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Caliginous Romance | Kismesis, F/F, F/M, Flushed Romance | Matesprits, M/M, Multi, Pale Romance | Moirallegiance, Polyamory, Post-Canon, Post-Canon Fix-It, Quadrant Vacillation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-28
Updated: 2016-10-28
Packaged: 2018-08-27 13:53:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8404177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/krazieLeylines/pseuds/krazieLeylines
Summary: After the events of the credits, Terezi is still out searching for her moirail. Meanwhile, Dave, Karkat, and Jade work through some hiccups in their polyamorous relationship, John continues to be a social hermit, and the Lalonde sisters make an interesting discovery that might change everything.Aka I wasn't emotionally satisfied with the credits, so I'm working through my feelings through fanfic.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Since this story begins after the credits (probably like a week or two afterwards), all characters are 20 or 21, except for Calliope, who's probably around 18-ish, going by what we know from canon. Polyamory will become a huge theme in this series, including John/Roxy/Calliope, Gamzee/Tavros/Jane, and the ridiculously complicated ot5 Dave/Jade/Karkat/Terezi/Nepeta. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy, and feel free to leave a comment if you'd like to share your personal comments and/or grievances about the ending of homestuck. (Something you still want to see play out, for instance.) Since this is basically a canon fix-it fic, I may incorporate your ideas into the story.

==>DAVE STRIDER: Wake Up

It’s the light piercing through the sliver of an opening between the curtains that stirs you from your slumber. It’s so bright that you’re reaching for your shades before even thinking about it. Once you can see properly, you sit up. You seemed to have kicked the sheets off the side of the bed. The room is empty, which is unusual. That is, you think it’s unusual until you check the time.

10:30? It’s uncommon for you to sleep in so long. Oh wait, that’s right: you took one of Karkat’s sopor pills to help you fall back asleep last night when the nightmares refused to go away on their own.

At least you’re in between movies. There’s nowhere you need to be, no urgent matters to attend to. 

Like a zombie, you drag yourself through your morning routines: brushing your teeth, pulling a comb through your hair, washing your face, and putting on some clothes. You check your phone and look for new messages. There’s a snap from Terezi: a selfie of her with a backdrop of fractured space. The caption reads: 

R1P F4BR1C OF SP4C3

Your lips twitch, and you’re not entirely positive whether you’re smiling or cringing. Should you snap her something back? No, not yet. Best wait until you can think of something good. Maybe after a cup of coffee.

Karkat’s in the kitchen. You can hear him before you even see him. He’s yelling at a video he’s watching on his phone, probably some news story or a movie review he disagrees with. He’s so damn predictable, like, all of the time. 

You love that about him.

“What fresh load of horseshit am I hearing right now, you lop-sided rumpusfuck? That didn’t make a lick fuck of sense, and everyone and your human mom knows it!”

“Yeah, you tell that prerecorded guy, Karkat,” you tease him.

He pauses the video with an angry finger jab and rolls his eyes at you. They’re so red now, and you are so into them. Before he can retort, you pull him in for a good morning kiss.

Karkat doesn’t let you pull away immediately, grabbing a fistful of your shirt and grazing your lips with the tips of his pointed teeth. It doesn’t hurt so much as send a shiver down your spine. You love his fiercely romantic kisses.

“Good morning to you too, assbreath.” Karkat sounds like you stole his breath from him. Fuck. Five years together and you can still make your man swoon. (And the feeling is mutual.)

“Hey,” you quip, “I just brushed my teeth, like, five goddamn minutes ago. There’s no way my breath could possibly still smell bad.” Still, you can’t help but check by blowing air against your palm. Yup, no worries, your breath is minty fresh.

“I meant that you were talking shit.”

Oh, damn. You have to give Karkat props for that one. You give him another quick kiss.

“Okay, no more shit talking. I promise.” You hold up a hand like you’re taking an oath. “I solemnly swear to play nice with my adorable boyfriend.” 

Karkat snorts at you, but then his expression shifts. 

“Hey,” he says, “While it’s just the two of us, can we discuss something?”

You raise an eyebrow at him and check the time again. Jade generally doesn’t finishing her gardening until 11, so it looks like you’ll be alone for a while longer. “Yeah, shoot. I’m all ears, I’m just going to make myself some coffee, but I’ll be laser-focused on you the whole time, okay?”

Karkat gives a slight nod of his chin. He doesn’t look at you when he starts talking, which means you need to be serious.

“Well, when Rose and Kanaya got married… since Rose was the ‘butch’ of the relationship, judging by her suit, she’s the one who proposed, right?”

“Uh.” Damn, that wedding was three years ago, and yet you bet you can still remember every line of the proposal story Rose told time and time again. “Well, Rose did propose, but I don’t think it has anything to do with her being ‘butch’ or whatever. I think it’s because she was the one who had more experience of the subject, plus Rose is better at initiating things.” You pour the coffee into your favorite SBaHJ mug.

Karkat doesn’t seem satisfied with your answer. “Okay, but.” He bites his lip and starts again. “Traditionally, in human male/female pairings, the male is the one to propose marriage? At least, in the large majority of cases.”

“I guess.” You stir in some cream and sugar into your coffee, and take a long swig. It’s lukewarm from sitting out for a while, but that’s what you get from sleeping in. “It’s kind of shitty that marriage maintained its archaic heterosexist undertones in this new world. Why are you suddenly interested in human gender roles, anyway?

Karkat stares at you as if you’re an idiot.

Oh. Fuck, you’re such an idiot.

“This isn’t about gender roles,” you say.

“Wow, Dave, you’re such an almighty deductive prodigy in order to read past my dumbshit vague subtlety like that.” Despite his jeering, Karkat can’t hide how insecure he looks.

Man, now you feel like a douche. You knew with what a romantic Karkat was that he’d want to get married someday. You blame your idiocy on the lack of caffeine and lingering medical sopor in your system. 

“Okay, my bad.” You’re still trying to digest what’s happening. “You want to know which one of us is supposed to propose.”

“Well, it’s a valid fucking question, right?” Karkat is getting all puffed up, and you can practically taste the embarrassment he’s radiating. “I mean, I didn’t want to make an ass of myself by planning something if you were, y’know…”

“No, no, I think it’s totally valid.” The very last thing you want to do is hurt his feelings. “For your information, I didn’t have any plans in the works or anything.”

“Okay, good.” Karkat gives a nod, and shit. Now he looks kind of hurt. “You mean… like, no plans at all?”

Fuck. Being an emotionally stunted windbag dating _another_ emotionally stunted windbag can be a real challenge sometimes. The last thing you want is to say something thoughtless and create a wedge in your relationship. You know what you have to do.

You create a cross in the air with your hands. “Okay, I’m calling a timeout on this conversation for now,” you tell him. 

His bushy eyebrows furrow and his shoulders clench up around his neck. But twenty-year-old Karkat is not the same as the Karkat you first started dating back on the meteor. He takes a deep breath, and calmly replies. “Why?”

“Well.” You make sure to choose your words carefully. “I do have some reservations about marriage, I’ll admit. But I’m not even actually sure _why_ , and honestly I think I’m just now realizing it. I need some time to muddle through my feelings and figure out what’s going on in my head.”

Karkat’s gaze falls to his hands on the kitchen table. You know exactly what he’s thinking. You wish you knew your own mind as well as you do his.

“But I can tell you right now,” you continue, “this has absolutely jack squat to do with my feelings for you. If you’re worried that I’m doubting this relationship or the commitment I’ve made to you, that is absolutely not the problem.”

Karkat tentatively glances back up.

“Karkat, I love you more passionately and obsessively every day. Hell, I’d get your name tattooed on my ass if you wanted it. KAR on one ass cheek and KAT on the other. And a tattoo is a hell of a lot more final than a marriage license, just ask any celebrity who’s on their fourth or fifth spouse.” You take Karkat’s hand firmly between your own. “So don’t worry about that, okay?”

Finally, finally, Karkat’s worry lines fade from his forehead, and his shoulders ease back down. And then, slowly, his lips crack up into a smile at the corners.

“Swear you will never get a tacky fucking tattoo of my name on your ass,” Karkat says.

“For you, babe, anything.”

“Who’s getting a tattoo, now?”

You both turn as Jade comes into the kitchen, a pile of produce stacked high in her arms, her dirty gardening gloves still on, and her hair pulled back into messy, hastily-done braids.

“Didn’t I tell you?” You joke, “I’m getting Karkat’s name tattooed on my butt.”

Jade puts the vegetables down on the counter near the sink so she can wash the soil off them. “Oh yeah?” She giggles, and shakes her head. “Where is my name going to go, then?”

Hmm, good question. “How about my lower back? Like a tramp stamp.”

Jade seems to like your suggestion, by the way she giggles even harder. “Okay. Come help me cut up some veggies. I’m going to make some omelets and maybe some fresh squeezed orange juice on the side. Do you want some, mister sleepy head?”

“Please and fucking thank you, hallelujah.” 

“Alright! But you’re helping me with the dishes afterwards.”

\--

Every day spent with your perfect girlfriend and perfect boyfriend is amazing. Soon after brunch and clean-up, Karkat has to leave for work. Jade goes to her lab to work on her latest invention idea, and you sit nearby at the only desk that’s relatively uncluttered.

You put on some tunes the two of you have composed together, while she tinkers and you edit your new SBaHJ script. Jade set an alarm on her phone, to alert you guys when Karkat’s show is about to come on. His hilarious yet candid political commentary has earned him a wide audience in the Troll Kingdom. Both you and Jade are ridiculously proud of him. (And he always looks so infuriatingly hot in those suits, too.)

Unfortunately, you’re hardly able to focus on your work. The conversation with Karkat from earlier keeps rattling around in the back of your mind.

You’re just about to give up when your phone buzzes. Terezi is texting you. The message reads:

WH4TS UP COOLK1D STR1D3R  
  
You unlock your phone and bring up the pesterchum app. Roxy’s upgrades on it are phenomenal. (Though, honestly, you kind of miss the aesthetics of the original version.)

\--gallowsCalibrator [GC] began pestering turntechGodhead [TG] at 14:13--  
GC: WH4TS UP COOLK1D STR1D3R  
GC: >:?  
TG: same shit as always  
TG: sbahj: the rehapening is absolutely refusing to be written  
TG: the english language as a whole has gone on strike like underpaid teachers created their own union and everything  
TG: its called the union against dave strider  
TG: and right now it is kicking my ass  
TG: so far its basically just been eerily reminiscent of the first movie but like shittier but not intentionally shittier you know  
GC: 1T SOUNDS L1K3 YOU N33D TO G3T OUT OF YOUR OWN H34D  
GC: TRY SOM3TH1NG COMPL3T3LY D1FF3R3NT  
TG: like what  
GC: H4V3 YOU CONS1D3R3D TR4NSC3ND1NG TH3 M3D1UM  
TG: like what exactly do you have in mind  
GC: 1 DONT KNOW  
GC: 1TS JUST YOUR MOV13S H4V3 B33N 4LL L1V3 4CT1ON SO F4R W1TH TH3 OCC4SS1ON4L HORR1BL3 CG1 MOM3NT  
GC: TRY TO M1X 1N SOM3TH1NG UN3XP3CT3D  
GC: L1K3 4 PUPP3T SHOW  
TG: fuck that you know how i feel about puppets  
GC: R1GHT R1GHT  
GC: OK4Y  
GC: HOW 4BOUT CL4YM4T1ON  
TG: holy shit  
GC: SW33T BRO 4ND H3LL4 J3FF COULD F4LL DOWN ST41RS THROUGH V4R1OUS G3NR3S OR SOM3TH1NG  
GC: F1RST FLOOR: CL4YM4T1ON  
GC: S3COND FLOOR: J4P4N3S3 4N1M4T1ON  
TG: shit like some dantes inferno shit with them falling down through the various circles of hell  
GC: H4H4H4 Y34H  
TG: tz you are a genius  
TG: you are seriously a career savior  
GC: Y34H 1 KNOW 1M PR3TTY GR34T  
GC: BUT 1F YOUR3 R34LLY COMM1TT3D TO TH1S WHOL3 H3LL 1D34 1 R34LLY MUST 1NS1ST TH4T TH3 D33P3ST FLOOR OF H3LL B3 4 PUPP3T SHOW  
GC: US1NG TH3 UGL13ST PUPP3TS YOU C4N F1ND 4ND P41NT1NG TH3M UP TO LOOK L1K3 TH3 CH4R4CT3RS  
GC: SOM3TH1NG TH4T W1LL G1V3 TH3 4UD13NC3 N1GHTM4R3S  
TG: damn thats twisted  
TG: i dont know man they might make them into actual merchandise and im going to be haunted by my own creations for the entirety of my immortal life  
GC: 4LR1GHT YOU B1G WR1GGL3R  
GC: JUST CH3W 1T OV3R SOM3 MOR3 1 TH1NK 1T WOULD B3 H1L4R1OUS  
TG: you just want to see me piss myself over some creepy voodoo doll versions of sweet bro and hella jeff  
TG: they dont deserve that terezi  
TG: no one deserves that  
GC: BL4RRRRRG OK4Y F1N3  
GC: YOUR3 4 R34L ST1CK 1N TH3 MUD SOM3T1M3S STR1D3R  
GC: 1 BL4M3 H4RL3Y  
TG: what  
TG: whats jade got to do with anything  
GC: SH3S JUST L1K3 H3R BROTH3R  
GC: SO D4MN BOR1NG  
TG: youve clearly never met jade if you think shes boring  
GC: OK4Y NOT BOR1NG JUST  
GC: SH3S SUCH 4 GOODY GOODY TWO SHO3S 4ND 1TS NO FUN  
GC: >:(  
TG: ahaha yeah  
TG: but idk  
TG: its kind of cute  
GC: BLUHHH  
TG: cmon its not that different from when you get all high and mighty over your law and order schtick  
GC: SO YOU TH1NK MY L4W 4ND ORD3R SCHT1CK 1S CUT3??  
TG: well i mean youre not  
TG: not cute  
GC: WOW  
GC: OK4Y SO  
GC: TH3R3S SOM3 M3T3ORS 4ND SH1T 1NCOM1NG  
TG: wait what  
TG: are you in danger  
GC: NO NO  
GC: 1 SHOULD JUST LOG OFF 4ND  
GC: FOCUS ON FLY1NG  
GC: BY3  
\--gallowsCalibrator [GC] ceased pestering turntechGodhead [TG]--  
TG: stay safe  
TG: bye

  
You stare at your phone without really seeing it for a couple of minutes. Are your cheeks red? It feels like they’re red.

“Everything okay?”

Oh, snap! You had been so focused on avoiding thinking about anything (anything at all) that you totally didn’t notice Jade had ceased her tinkering.

“Yeah,” you reply, “everything is good.”

Unfortunately, you can’t really lie to Jade. No one can. She’s like a walking lie detector. You can see it in her face: she totally does not believe you.

Suddenly you have a lapful of Jade Harley. She puts her arms around your neck and resorts to her lowliest of tricks: being absurdly cute. “C’mon,” Jade pushes, “Tell me what’s wrong. It will make you feel better.”

You can’t help but smile. “Promise?”

“I promise!” Jade kisses you, kind of sloppily but full of warmth. “You’ll feel soooo much better if you just tell me what’s bringing you down.”

You can’t argue with her when she’s being this adorable. 

“Fine.” You take a deep breath, and begin. “I was just chatting with Terezi, and— I don’t know exactly why, but talking to her always turns awkward at some point or another. Which is probably because, ugh, I don’t know…”

“Yes you do,” Jade says, “Tell me. I won’t get mad, I promise.”

Is Jade a damn mind reader or something? Can she really read you as easily as you can read her and Karkat? Maybe that’s just what happens when you live with someone for four years.

“Okay, so back when we first met, Terezi and I used to flirt all the time. And at first it was mostly one-sided on her side, but then I jokingly played along, and I don’t know, I had this feeling that something might happen between us.” As soon as you start talking, everything just starts gushing out of you. “Terezi just spent all her time with Vriska, and Rose was always with Kanaya, so that’s how I ended up spending so much time with Karkat. And Terezi and I stayed friends, I guess, but honestly we didn’t talk much anymore. But now that we’re talking on a regular basis again, we keep falling back to old habits where we tease each other and then it feels like we’re flirting and it’s clear how embarrassed she gets by it all.”

Eventually, you run out of breath and just kind of take a moment to stroke Jade’s back.

True to her word, she doesn’t look angry.

“Do you have feelings for her?” Jade finally asks.

“What? No.” You blurt it out immediately, but it’s just a knee-jerk reaction. “I guess, yeah, kind of,” you correct yourself, “I’m sorry.”

Jade’s fingers slide through your bangs and sweep them to the side. “Why are you sorry?” Her face is so close to yours, she has to whisper now. “Didn’t the three of us already establish, like, forever ago, that people can’t control how they feel, and that developing crushes just happen, even when you’re already in a happy relationship?”

You’re brought back to that conversation for a moment. God, you were all so young back then. Jade and Karkat still looked like awkwardly disproportionate teenagers. You suppose you did, too.

“And if it makes you feel better,” Jade adds, “Karkat and I knew already. We talked about it.”

“What? And he’s okay with it?”

Jade’s nails scratch at your scalp. If you had a dog tail like her, you’d be wagging it. Yeah, that’s the ticket.

“Why wouldn’t he be?”

“I don’t know. I suppose I always felt like Terezi was a sore subject for Karkat. They used to be close friends, until they danced around the idea of dating for a while. But then I came in, and made things even more complicated. I think Terezi just got sick of the both of us, which is why she spent all her time with Vriska.”

You remember talking about that with Karkat on the meteor a lot. It was one of the first things the two of you bonded over, beyond both being lonely as fuck.

“Yeah,” Jade says, “but Karkat isn’t a thirteen year old boy anymore. He no longer has those wild fantasies about you running off with someone else and abandoning him.” Her palm touches your cheek. It’s surprisingly soft, despite the callouses. “He wants to reconnect with Terezi, too. He misses her. But he’s afraid they’ll wind up in that old cycle of vacillation and dancing around their feelings. That’s why we need to keep being honest about how we feel. So we don’t end up losing each other.”

Of course what Jade said makes complete sense. God, you love her so much. You take her hand and kiss each of her fingers. Her smile is so radiant.

Then, without warning, it fades away.

“That’s why I’m so worried about John lately,” she says, “He doesn’t really hang out with people much anymore. And he doesn’t live with anyone, not even Jane or her dad. I’m afraid he’s closing himself off from the world, and I don’t know why. But anytime I ask him about it, he clams right up!”

“Yeah, he’s almost as stubborn as you are.”

Jade pouts at you, but she knows you’re right.

“That’s why you need to keep pressing,” you tell her, “You’re way more persistent than John will ever be. You’ll wear him down eventually. Just be patient.”

That smile of hers doesn’t return to full force, but it does creep back slightly. That’s good enough for you.

“I love you, Dave,” Jade coos, and kisses you.


End file.
